A 34‑year‑old California man was found guilty of killing his parents and the family housekeeper in a brutal attack that took place in Newport Beach.
The jury this Wednesday convicted Camden Burton Nicholson of three counts of first‑degree murder and of the special circumstance of multiple murders in the deaths of his father, Richard Nicholson, 64, his mother, Kim Nicholson, 61, and Maria Morse, 57, an Anaheim housekeeper who had worked for the family for years.
According to prosecutors, the killings unfolded over two days in February 2019 inside the Nicholsons’ gated‑community home. The case hinged on a clear sequence of events that opened the trial. Senior Deputy District Attorney Dave Porter told jurors that surveillance footage captured Richard Nicholson returning home at about 12:45 p.m. on the day of his death. Inside the garage, the son confronted a father who had urged him to seek help for mental‑health and addiction problems.
“I saw him stab his father over and over again, then move the body into a small bathroom and block the door with towels to contain the blood,” Porter said. When his mother arrived later, Nicholson struck her with a metal statue and stabbed her multiple times, killing her in the garage. The defense team later argued that Nicholson was suffering from schizoaffective disorder, a claim that prompted a sanity hearing.
The next morning, when housekeeper Maria Morse arrived for work, Nicholson stabbed her repeatedly, slit her throat, and placed her body in a plastic bin in the kitchen pantry. Investigators found hair clumps on the body, suggesting she fought for her life.
After the murders, Nicholson took the family sedan and spent the night buying items at a Santa Ana marijuana dispensary and buying sex toys. He then drove to a Kaiser Permanente location in Irvine, called 911, and claimed he had killed his parents in self‑defense, saying he thought they were going to kill him. Police who arrived for a welfare check found the home in disarray and all three victims with multiple stab wounds and extensive blood.
The defense’s argument that Nicholson was legally insane is still pending. A sanity phase began this week to decide whether he will serve a life sentence without parole or be committed to a state mental hospital.
The case highlights how a sudden loss of mental‑health stability and lack of treatment can lead to tragic outcomes. Prosecutors allege that Nicholson’s parents had urged him to get help, but the young man’s actions proved deadly. The trial’s verdict will determine whether he faces life in prison or a psychiatric commitment.
For more on this developing story, follow updates from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the courtroom.
Source: Fox News
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